Juba Dance, an Interview with Joe Turner's Come and Gone Chorepgrapher CJay Philip

The Juba dance in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone is a powerful communal moment that brings each character together. Through rhythmic stomping, clapping, and call-and-response, it serves as a spiritual release and a connection to the shared roots of household. Our movement coach and choreographer CJay Philip of Dance & Bmore, reflects on what the dance means for the era and how she worked with our actors to make it shine.
About the Production
August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone vividly captures an emotional piece of the African American experience during the early days of the Great Migration. Haunted by the past and desperate to find his missing wife, Herald Loomis arrives at a Pittsburgh boarding house with his young daughter. As he encounters the other residents of this transient home, Loomis’s search becomes a powerful odyssey of self-discovery, rich with spiritual release and resonance. This “spellbinding” play is the second show in The Baltimore August Wilson Celebration, a collaborative project uniting Baltimore's theatre community to present all of Wilson’s American Century Cycle plays.
Joe Turner's Come and Gone runs from September 20 to October 13. Get tickets at ChesShakes.com/JoeTurner